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Our twins began wearing their helmets a few weeks ago and I’m happy to say that things are going really well.

elvis lip and all.

As mentioned previously, the babies needed helmets to fix their flat heads and to prevent any issues from creeping up later in life, like vision, nasal, or dental issues. Differences in the shape of their heads were noticed almost immediately, but we still have three months to go.

It was weird at first, but for reasons that we fully expected. Mostly staring.

Even though it’s 2015, and it’s becoming more common to see babies with helmets, there are a ton of people who have never seen a kid wear this kind of helmet. Or maybe they have, but they just can’t stop staring. We fully expected stares, gaping mouths, and whispers about the two goofs in the baby carriers wearing helmets, but it was easier to expect than to actually deal with.

Mom has witnessed it more than me, and to my surprise, she hasn’t yelled at a single person yet. She really is softening up! Sometimes she’ll return the stare, but that’s what any mother would do, right?

My favorite responses come from kids. They’re innocent and curious and they have zero filter. I can’t help but crack up when kids point and say “haha, them babies are wearing helmets!” It’s even better when they come right out and ask why the babies are wearing helmets, even though when I explain that they have flat heads, the kids think of the dude from minecraft.

The whole idea of helmets became much easier when we found out about Bling Your Band. It’s a great site that creates decals for baby helmets. Mom shared the site with me while I was at work and I couldn’t stop looking through all of the designs they had. And if you want something special, they have artists on hand to create custom designs! They also have a giant picture gallery that shows hundreds of other babies with their sweet helmet bling.

Honestly, if people are going to stare, let’s give them something to stare at. The designers for Bling Your Band were well aware of people gawking at kids who have to wear a helmet, and they have the perfect answer: acknowledge those who stare.

They’ve come up with clever decals that say:

“The Longer U Stare, The Cuter I Get”

“Keep looking… I know I’m cute”

“Whoo R U Staring at?” (with accompanying owls, of course)

And then there are several other funny designs that say things like “Under Construction”, “Just Fixin my Flat”, and “You should see the other guy”.

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?

And that’s exactly what we did. Our kids have to wear helmets. 23 hours each day. For four months. We decided to make the most of it, so we got them some bling.

Griffin, the badass that he is, is no longer wearing a baby helmet. He is now sporting the helmet of a fighter pilot.

The decals were super easy to put on, and we put a coat of Mod Podge on the helmets to help protect the decals. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results. The helmets look awesome, and if the babies could thank us, they would. And I’m sure they’ll be sending a thank-you note to Bling Your Band in the next few days.

****

We made the most of an unfortunate situation. Actually, we embraced it.

The kids’ heads are quickly rounding out. The before-and-after photos are striking, even though they’ve only been wearing the helmets for a few weeks. They don’t mind wearing the helmets at all. I don’t think they know they’re even wearing them.

Everyone at the grocery store sure knows that the babies are wearing helmets. But now, I’m okay with the staring.